Southward Housing Co-operative Limited (202215781)
REPORT
COMPLAINT 202215781
Southward Housing Co-operative Limited
25 February 2025
Our approach
The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.
Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.
The complaint
- The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s requests for reimbursement for the communal lighting and smoke alarm.
- The landlord’s complaint handling has also been considered.
Background
- The resident is an assured tenant of the landlord, which is a co-operative. The property is a ground–floor flat in a converted terrace house. The tenancy began on 1 June 2018. The landlord has not reported that the resident has any vulnerabilities.
- The resident complained to the landlord in January 2022 that the communal lighting and smoke alarm in the communal hallway were charged to his electricity account. The resident requested that this be removed so he is not charged for its usage.
- The landlord contacted the resident on 10 March 2022 to explain it had discussed the matter at its committee meeting and could not remove the lighting or smoke alarm for safety reasons, but would look to compensate the resident. It noted it would backdate the payment for usage 3 years. The resident responded on 3 May 2022 and requested a separate electricity meter be installed for the communal area, and for the payment to be backdated to the beginning of his tenancy.
- On 13 July 2022, the resident asked the landlord to contact his electricity provider on his behalf to arrange for a separate meter to be installed. The landlord did so but the energy supplier was unable to discuss the matter with the landlord as it is not the account holder.
- In September 2022, the communal lighting and smoke alarm power source was changed so it no longer came from the resident’s meter. The landlord calculated that the cost of running the communal light and smoke alarm to be 4 pence per year for the smoke alarm and 14 pence for the light. The calculation was based on the cost of electricity under the April 2022 price cap and the energy watt usage of each item.
- The resident contacted this Service in December 2022 to ask for assistance in the pursual of his complaint. This Service wrote to the landlord on 19 December 2022 and asked it to consider the resident’s complaint under its complaint policy.
- On 9 January 2023, the landlord asked the resident to provide his electricity bill for at least the 3 months prior to and after the removal of the light and smoke alarm from the meter, so it could determine the usage. The landlord followed up with the resident on 29 January 2023 to request the bills and ask the resident to attend the committee meeting of the co-operative so that it could discuss the matter in full. The resident declined to attend and noted he considered £1200 to be an appropriate figure for the time he was paying for the communal area.
- The landlord continued to request that the resident attend a committee meeting to discuss the matter and to provide evidence to support the amount he was claiming.
- This Service issued a Complaint Handling Failure Order (CHFO) to the landlord on 13 July 2023 because it had not responded to the resident’s complaint. The complaint was considered to have exhausted the landlord’s internal complaints process on 4 August 2023 because the landlord did not comply with the CHFO.
Assessment and findings
The landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for reimbursement for the communal lighting and smoke alarm
- When the resident reported that he was paying for the lighting and smoke alarm in the communal area, the landlord took steps to reassure the resident he would be reimbursed and to contact the electricity provider for the property to enquire about a separate meter being installed in the communal area. While the landlord was unable to arrange this, it acted appropriately by exploring the possibility and demonstrated it was taking the resident’s concerns seriously. The landlord was understanding of the resident’s concerns and its communication was sympathetic in tone.
- When the lighting and smoke alarm were removed from the resident’s meter, the landlord provided its estimation for how much the resident had paid in electricity for the communal area since the beginning of the tenancy. The landlord provided its calculations, the data it had used, and explained how it had reached this figure.
- The landlord’s response was appropriate because its explanation was clear, and it was proactive in asking the resident to provide electricity statements or attend a committee meeting when he disputed the amount offered. When the resident had not responded, the landlord contacted him to ask again for his electricity statements or to discuss in person at a committee meeting. This demonstrated that the landlord was actively seeking to resolve the matter for the resident.
- While this Service notes that the resident disputes the amount of reimbursement offered by the landlord, there is no evidence available to dispute the landlord’s estimate. The resident asserts that he had paid approximately £1,200 since the commencement of his tenancy. There is no evidence to support this.
- According to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem), the average single occupancy 1 bedroom flat uses 1800 kWh of electricity per year. The electricity price cap at the time of the complaint was 24.5 pence per kWh. Based on these estimates, the electricity price for the average single occupancy 1 bedroom flat would be £441 per year. It is unlikely that the single bulb communal light and smoke alarm would generate costs of approximately £1200 over the time period that the resident was paying for the communal lighting and smoke alarm.
- Overall, the landlord’s response to the resident’s requests for reimbursement was appropriate. It was clear and detailed in its explanation of its calculations and actively sought further evidence from the resident when he expressed his dissatisfaction with the reimbursement offer. The landlord took the resident’s concerns seriously and took all reasonable steps to try to resolve the matter.
- The landlord has noted that it is a small co-operative and that many conversations happen in person so are not officially recorded, unless it is a conversation that occurred at a committee meeting. Although we were still able to determine this case using the information that was available, it is vital that landlords keep clear, accurate and easily accessible records to provide an audit trail. If we investigate a complaint, we will ask for the landlord’s records. If there is disputed evidence and no audit trail, we may not be able to conclude that an action took place or that the landlord followed its own policies and procedures. A recommendation has been made to this effect.
The landlord’s complaint handling
- The Ombudsman’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) states that landlords must have an effective complaint process to provide a good service to their residents. An effective complaint process means landlords can fix problems quickly, learn from their mistakes and build good relationships with residents.
- The Code in force at the time of the resident’s complaint states that stage 1 complaints must be acknowledged within 5 working days of being made and responded to within 10 working days of being acknowledged. Stage 2 complaints must be responded to within 20 working days of the complaint being escalated.
- The landlord’s complaints policy that was in place at the time of the complaint states that complaints will be investigated within 14 days and discussed by the committee within 28 days of receipt. The policy did not include an escalation route if a resident is unhappy with the initial complaint response, or details of how the resident can access this Service once the internal complaints process has been exhausted. The landlord’s complaints policy was not compliant with the Code in place at the time. The landlord has noted that it has now update its complaint policy but has not provided evidence of this to the Ombudsman.
- Under part 35 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, a complaint is considered duly made when it has exhausted, or the Ombudsman has decided it has exhausted, the member’s internal processes for considering complaints. This Service informed the landlord it considered the complaint to be duly made on 4 August 2023 because the landlord had not complied with the CHFO.
- The resident complained in January 2022. The landlord did not keep an accurate record of the specific date the complaint was made, which was a failure by the landlord.
- The landlord notes that the resident did not complete its complaints form so it did not consider the complaint to have been made. The Code in force at the time notes that a complaint is an “expression of dissatisfaction, however made”. It was inappropriate of the landlord to disregard the resident’s contact because he did not use a specific channel.
- When this Service wrote to the landlord in December 2022, it was asked to acknowledge the resident’s complaint and provide a response. It did not do so and a CHFO was issued. This should not have been necessary.
- The landlord’s failure to respond to the resident’s complaint was inappropriate and unnecessarily delayed the resident being able to escalate his complaint to this Service. It is particularly concerning that the landlord failed to provide the resident with a stage 1 response, even after the involvement of this Service. The resident was inconvenienced by not having a response to his complaint and needing to contact this Service for assistance.
- The landlord has not provided any reflection or learning in relation to the complaint handling failures detailed in this report. It has not provided reassurance that it has taken this Service’s intervention seriously or considered ways to improve its service to all residents to prevent the same issue happening again.
- The landlord’s complaint handling amounts to severe maladministration for the following reasons:
- it did not recognise the resident’s complaints or keep an accurate record of them
- it did not acknowledge or provide a complaint response to the resident
- it did not comply with the CHFO issued by this Service
- the detrimental impact on the resident who was inconvenienced by not receiving a response
- the lack of demonstrated learning or reflection in relation to its complaint handling
- The Ombudsman has ordered the landlord to pay the resident £200 compensation for the complaint handling failures noted in this report. This is in line with this Service’s remedies guidance where a landlord has not acknowledged its failings and has made no attempt to put things right, which has adversely affected the resident.
- On 8 February 2024, the Ombudsman issued the current statutory version of the Code. This Code sets out the standards landlords must meet when handling complaints in both policy and practice. The statutory Code applies from 1 April 2024.
- The Ombudsman has a duty to monitor compliance with the Code. We will assess landlords using our Compliance Framework and take action where there is evidence that the requirements set out in the Code are not being met.
- In this investigation, we found failures in the landlord’s complaint handling policy. We have therefore referred this to our team responsible for monitoring compliance with the Code.
Determination
- In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was no maladministration in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s requests for reimbursement for the cost of the communal lighting and smoke alarm.
- In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was severe maladministration in the landlord’s complaint handling.
Orders
- The landlord must apologise to the resident, in writing, for the failures noted in this determination. A copy should also be provided to the Ombudsman within 4 weeks of this determination.
- Within 4 weeks of this determination, the landlord is ordered to pay the resident a total compensation of £200 for the complaint handling failures noted in this report.
- Within 6 weeks of the date of the determination the landlord should carry out a review of its complaint handling in this case and identify what it would do differently to prevent a recurrence. This should include how log and track complaints, and ensure it is in compliance with the Code. A copy of the outcome of the review should be provided to the resident and the Ombudsman, also within 6 weeks.
Recommendations
- The landlord should conduct a review of its record keeping processes, ensuring that there is a clear audit trail for complaints, which provides details of specifically when contact was made, what was said and what the agreed next steps and expectations were. The landlord should also consider the recommendations made in the Ombudsman’s Spotlight report on Knowledge and Information Management.